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#19284 03/07/01 11:39 PM
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In reply to:

Okay - if you're slinking, so am I 'cause I can do the Vulcan sign with both hands WHILE curling the edges of my tongue


That is so easy! (to anyone yet to try this) I've heard that curling your tongue is genetic, so if you can't do that it's hopeless. It also seems that some people can't do the vulcan sign. I have no explanation to that.

jimthedog


#19285 03/07/01 11:47 PM
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I've heard that curling your tongue is genetic,

While I can curl my tongue, I was miffed as a child to discover that I do not have the (apparently) genetic ability to wiggle my earlobes. I also envied a friend who could wrap his thumb around the back of his little finger, and was the only person I have ever met who could twiddle both thumbs simultaneously in opposite directions (clockwise and anticlockwise). The hours I spent trying to do that!


#19286 03/08/01 12:39 AM
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Dear Max: Wiggle your earlobes? I've known some muscleheads, but none with muscles attached to their ear lobes! I have seen pictures of some really pesky flies in your part of the world, but I doubt they could be driven away with the most vigorous ear movements of any human I have ever seen.I know a couple ancient corny jokes about ear movements, but they are neither clever enough or chaste enough to include in this post.You must be content with your already generous endowment with talent.

Do Vulcan ears have such an ability? I'm trying to picture
Leonard(?) Nimoy flapping his Star Trek ears.

#19287 03/08/01 02:53 AM
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Nope, but they do have two eyelids.


#19288 03/08/01 05:08 AM
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Okay Max... please elaborate:

(1) Are you suggesting that this person could stretch his thumb *backwards* (across the back of his hand) to hook it on his pinky? egads....

(2) (and i'm honestly not trying to be obtuse, here) What exactly is twiddling? Isn't it when you lace your fingers together then twirl your thumbs? The natural pattern would be to twirl them in the same direction, one on top of the other, but it's not difficult to reverse one, provided you open your hands a bit to allow sufficient space between their rotating tips so as not to bump into one another. Am I doing it incorrectly? Even when i curl my tongue while twiddling one clockwise and the other counter-clockwise in this manner, i can't see where the problem might lie...

I'd appreciate your input, before my thumbs develop acute tendonitis

~b


#19289 03/08/01 06:19 AM
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Yes, my friend could, and often did, stretch his thumb *backwards* (across the back of his hand) to hook it on his pinky? He would also demonstrate his ability to bend all his fingers backwards to touch the back of his wrist.
Congratulations on the asynchronous twiddling. I keep asking people to try, and no one has demonstrated the gift, you are blessed. Perhaps you could upload an mpeg of a command performance for us?



#19290 03/08/01 06:29 AM
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Be careful what you wish for, my dear... i have a great deal of time on my hands and a new digital camera i'm experimenting with. of course, i haven't bothered to get a manicure for weeks, so the mpeg won't be coming in the immediate future....

seriously... i'll admit that it's not as natural as having both thumbs moving in the same direction, but the trick is simply to concentrate on the one that's moving counterclockwise; the other one will naturally move clockwise, if you just ignore it. (or is this indicative of some major brain dysfunction on my part??? [introspective glance, followed by a cavalier shrug])


#19291 03/08/01 06:59 PM
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>twiddle both thumbs simultaneously in opposite directions (clockwise and anticlockwise)

not to pick nits (well, of course, that's exactly what I'm picking ;), but when twiddling one's thumbs, aren't they naturally going "simultaneously in opposite directions (clockwise and anticlockwise)"? (at least from the POV of each hand or thumb -- keep them spinning and point them both away from you!)


#19292 03/08/01 07:26 PM
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not to pick nits (well, of course, that's exactly what I'm picking ;)

Sorry to hear you've been infested with lice-- are you lousy with them?
[ducking emoticon!]


#19293 03/08/01 07:40 PM
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>are you lousy with them?

jalouse?


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